Election Day

What a day! Delinda and I worked at precinct 149 as poll workers on election day. Delinda was one of four ladies who checked everyone who came in to make sure they were registered voters and at the right precinct. I was an Assistant Clerk, which means I had to be trained in all of the disciplines of the day and could assist or relieve anyone. I spent a lot of time handing out ballots and trying to keep things running smoothly when we would get a room full of people all going in different directions. I would heartily urge everyone to work as a vollunteer at a polling place during a presidential election just to see how our system that elects our leaders works. We saw all kinds of people: young people who were voting for the first time and wanted to make sure everything they were doing was correct, people who brought their sample ballot with them to make sure they made the choices they had previously thought through (very smart since this was a long two ballot day), those who came in, voted for President, and left, and one elderly couple who appeared to be from India originally and had probably just become US citizens as he so proudly told me that this was the first time he has been able to vote. He and his wife took quite a while to make sure they fulfilled their new privilege in a proper way. I was amazed that even though the lines were long, the tempers were not short. Everyone was very pleasant even those who had waited an hour or more just to get inside only to find out that their names were not on the rolls and had to wait up to another hour for our computer operator to check with the Elections Supervisor's office to make sure they were eligible. Even after all of this time when I would give them their ballot they were pleasant and just proud to be able to participate in this wonderful opportunity of freedom. It was a long day for us. We arrived a little after 5:30 AM and didn't leave until after 9 PM. We were tired, but glad that we had been there and contributed to the democratic process. Whether or not you agreed with the outcome...the system works. In our precinct John McCain was a clear winner....obviously, there weren't a lot of other precincts where this was the case. God Bless America!